South kept up the pressure on Division 4NW leaders Peterborough Athletic by recording a relatively comfortable victory over a Nomads side who never quite gave in.

South made the running right from the start, with livewire Sanjay Agarwala seeing plenty of action on the left wing and Peter Carey in a roving defensive-cum-attacking vein prominent just about everywhere. Agarwala and the equally ubiquitous Chris Massey both had shots well saved and short corner attempts from Rob Sprawson and switch-man Steve Fleck were also on target. The occasional Nomadic foray was firmly repelled by an uncompromising Jim Thorpe as South patiently built up their game, exploring both wings and playing the triangles nicely.

Matt Readman, calmness personified as ever, spread the ball round well and, on twenty-five minutes, took the opportunity to move upfield and slot home crisply through traffic from the top of the D to make it 1-0. Further good work from Massey, ball apparently welded to his stick, and the persevering Jonny Tostevin on the right increased the pressure and, after Readman and Matt Murray had engaged in a neat one-two, a fractal run by Fleck put Murray clear on the spot and the good doctor finished the move with clinical precision to double the lead after thirty-one minutes. Nomads threatened briefly when a skimmer was deflected just wide but a half-time advantage of 2-0 was no more than South deserved.

Rob Barton, returning from injury and with a goal already under his belt from earlier in the day, quickly made his presence felt with a cunning reverse pass after a South short and master and commander Chris Graveling was on hand to unleash a cannon into the bottom left-hand corner and put clear water between the sides. A superb multi-directional move stemming from a big Thorpe clearance and involving Barton, Agarwala and Sprawson deserved better than a turnover and a Nomads break but Thorpe was reassuringly in position to defuse the threat.

Despite a good debut from Mark Jackson on the left and persistent attacking intent, South hit a slightly rocky patch hereabouts and, after fifty-one minutes, a nasty hole opened up in the D, leaving a Nomads forward to roof a first-timer home from five yards. A further home goal at this point might have jangled the nerves but keeper Steve Parker first blocked a sharp hit from an unmarked Nomads attacker and then clawed down a flick from the same player to spare South's blushes.

With moral fibre stiffened by Thorpe's schoolmasterly promptings - a pained "This is shocking!" perhaps the most effective - South swiftly regained control and Murray nearly got through on a sliderule feed from Carey, while Graveling and Sprawson played havoc with the Nomads defence, the former bouncing a flick off the goalie's chest and the latter reversing a subtle pass to Murray. The pressure finally told and, from a sixty-sixth minute short, Fleck found space to make it 4-1 with a wily raised deflection from Sprawson's well-angled drive - a textbook goal which left both defenders and keeper powerless.

Skipper Steve Parker, after delivering an impassioned pre-match speech, was satisfied with the victory whilst expressing some concern with the team's occasionally shaky second half showing. He added that he was looking for a commanding performance in the final league game before the Christmas break.